Paper Crafting Magic Challenge #10: My Favorites!

Good morning! We're a week into Paper Crafting Magic's Challenge #10, where we're asking you to show us your favorites! Easy, right? This one is almost a no brainer (perfect for the end of the school year with all of the activities and things going on in all of our busy lives...or is that just me? HA!)

I decided to go with this fun interactive card (one of my favorite things currently), which I made for my mother on Mother's Day. Of course, since it was being mailed to my mom in TN, I just *had* to make a gift box for it ;) For both the card and the gift box, I turned to my Ultimate Tool. Here's the end result, after much folding, gluing, and fussing over perfect flower placement:

 Isn't it pretty? It's a sheet of white cardstock cut and folded to make this pretty interactive card that pops out into a box that can stand like a vase of flowers on a table! *LOVE* Patterned papers were glued down on the flaps and outside of the box, and the flowers inside are mostly Prima. The fun clips with flowers on top are Crate Paper, and the big pink heart is Prima. I took a few chipboard hearts from Stuff2Scrap and sprayed them with Dragon Fruit Pink Maya Mist. Once that dried, a light layer of Angel Pink Memento Fireworks left a nice shimmer over the top. All of the elements are attached to acetate strips. The sentiment is from Crafter's Companion, one of their Sentimentals sets.

Isn't it so pretty? Hope she loved it! Head over to Paper Crafting Challenges to show us your favorites...you have another week to enter to win a great prize from Online Card Classes. Head over to the blog to check it out!

xoxo
Khristen

Paper Crafting Challenge #9: One Embellishment

Good morning! I am a bit late with this, but with the chaos of spring sports season (baseball, softball, and lacrosse)/end of school, it's easy to see how that can happen! I am hoping to schedule the next few weeks' worth of blog posts so as to avoid this in the future.

Today, I am excited to share the latest Paper Crafting Challenges challenge, sponsored by the wonderful Studio Calico. They have offered up a great prize for the winner, and have even given our blog followers a special promo code! If you've ever wanted to subscribe, now is the chance! Head over to our blog post to check it out.

We want to see your creations using just ONE EMBELLISHMENT this time around, and here's what I whipped up:

 I love the look of an inked up embossed background, so I ran the cardstock through my Big Shot with my Cuttlebug Honeycomb embossing folder and rubbed Rose Bud Memento Dew Drop ink all over. The edges are inked in Espresso Truffle Memento ink. The Bo Bunny stamp (adorable, right?!) was colored in with my Spectrum Noir pens (EB3, TN2, PP6, PP5, PP4) and mounted with foam squares, and a Crafter's Companion sentiment from their Sentimentals EZ Mount Stamp Set collection was the perfect finishing touch. My one embellishment: this gorgeous Maya Road rosette ribbon!

Head on over and show us your project using just one embellishment. There are only two days left...which means I need to head over and schedule the post for my next project ;) Can't wait until this chaotic month is over and life can carry on as usual!

xoxo
Khristen

Teacher Appreciation Card

Good afternoon! I have a moment in my crazy busy week, and thought I would share what I created for my son's wonderful teacher. She has a lot on her plate with a class full of first graders, and I wanted her to remember what a big role she plays in Patryk's life. 

Isn't that pretty? I used my Ultimate Tool to score and trim the accordion card, and decorated it with Crate Paper's Fourteen line. My Fiskars hexagon punch jazzed up the blue cardstock panels that are hidden on the back when the card is opened up, kind of like patchwork, and it is covered in Studio Calico wood shapes and MME enamal dots.

Now, onto the inside of the card. The stamp and sentiment, inked on the edges with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, are from the S.W.A.L.K. EZ Mount stamp set Best Teacher from Crafter's Companion, colored with my Spectrum Noir pens (that I didn't think to note for all of you wondering how I colored her up!) I had my son write a message on a sheet of white paper and inked the edges of that as well.

Because the image sticks out beyond the edge of the fold, I needed to do something to the back of it. I added a strip of paper and black Liquid Pearls. Perfect finishing touch!

I hope she loves her card, and realizes how much she means to Patryk! What did you do for your child's teachers?

xoxo

Khristen

Boys Rule Scrapbooking Kit Sketch Challenge #2

Two layouts in one weekend? Wowza! But I can't take all of the credit. Most of it is due to the fact I used sketches! Yet again, I chose to play along at the Boys Rule Scrapbook Kit blog, this time using the second sketch. Here's the sketch:

And my take on it featuring adorable little Patryk back in February of 2009 wearing his sister's scarf:

 That's what I love about sketches. They give you a starting point for your layout, and you can either copy it all as-is, or put your own personal spin on it. I chose to make a strip of two photos instead of making a photo strip, matting them together on a rectangular strip of paper. the larger 4X6 image is accented with hexagons instead of tags, and I added a fun Studio Calico arrow clip. Papers: Fancy Pants Happy Go Lucky, Elle's Stuido You & Me, and Glitz Color Me Happy, all inked with Memento Nautical Blue ink. My Mind's Eye Boy Crazy enamel dots, Silver Liquid Pearls, Glitz Color Me Happy washi (the fun arrow-looking strip where the title is placed), Fiskars hexagon punch, and My Mind's Eye Lime Twist alpha.

I'm hoping that today holds more scrappy time, but we'll have to wait and see. It all depends on how quickly we can get out of the grocery store!

xoxo
Khristen

Boys Rule Scrapbooking Sketch Challenge 1

It's been a crazy week here, ending with a nice relaxing holiday, despite all of the sugary treats consumed by my kids! Baseball, softball, and lacrosse schedules are in full swing, so there is a LOT of driving around. This doesn't leave much time for layouts to be completed in between work and home responsibilities, although I know it is short lived. When I do have time to work on a layout, it becomes essential the process is as painless as possible. I also find I am lacking in the creativity department when it comes to design, probably due to the overload our hectic schedule imposes upon my brain!

That's where sketches come in handy. I love the challenges at the Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits blog, and decided to play along this weekend. I worked on this layout on Friday, their first sketch challenge (there are two each month). Sketches take the guesswork out of paper, photo, and element placement, while allowing you to make some alterations to suit your own personal style. In this case, I didn't alter much. I loved the sketch that put the spotlight on one image!  Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:

 Papers: Studio Calico Darling Dear (Monroe, Sinatra). October Afternoon Rocket Age Sprinkler in Night Sky for spatters, and sprayed on My Mind's Eye chipboard stars. American Crafts foam Thickers in Limeade. My CM trimmer cut the scalloped border nicely.

Head over to Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits' blog to enter your own layout into this sketch challenge, and watch for post #2 using their second sketch!

xoxo

Khristen

Paper Crafting Challenges #8: No Patterned Paper

Good afternoon! Have you seen the new challenge over at Paper Crafting Challenges? This time, we're asking to see your creations featuring NO PATTERNED PAPER. This can seem a daunting task. However, there are many ways to deal with this problem. I like to create my own background as I've done here on my card:

 I started by splattering different mists across the kraft cardstock -- I used Glimmer Mist in Seven Seas, Fireworks in Angel Pink, and Mister Huey in Water Cooler. When that was dry, I added a border around the image with the Reversed Punchinella stamp from Unity Stamp Co, stamping with a Memento Dew Drop in Rose Bud.

I love this stamp! The image is Wild Rose Studio - Sheep For Ewe colored with my Spectrum Noir pens. After punching the corners with my corner rounder and affixing to a doily, I added some American Crafts Zazz! glitter glue in Taffy.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Paper Crafting Challenges and submit your own card or altered item using no patterned paper for your chance to win a free stamp set from Waffle Flower! You have until May 2nd. I can't wait to see what you create!

xoxo
Khristen

Paper Crafting Challenges #7: Masculine

Good morning! Have you seen the newest challenge at Paper Crafting Challenges? This week, we're asking to see your manly creations! This can be tough for some, but that's why they call it a challenge, people! :)

Here's what I came up with:

 I used my Spectrum Noir markers for this bucket o' beer: IG5, IG4, IG3, JG4, JG3, LG3, DR5, DR4, CR6, GB8, TB5, TB4. Background paper is Fancy Pants Merry Little Christmas. Image and sentiment Crafter's Companion Camden Town Male 1 EZ Mount Stamp Set, stamped and matted on black cardstock. Love this card, and it will probably go to the hubs on this birthday.

I hope to see you playing along with us at Paper Crafting Challenges! You have until April 18, so get on over there and enter for your chance at an SVGCuts prize!

xoxo
Khristen

*Gasp* A Layout?!

Could it be? Why yes! I did make a layout! Not only that, I made a 2-PAGER! It is rare I've been able to sit down to create for me lately...lacrosse, the middle school musical, band and chorus commitments, work, and chores...but I did it.

I started Saturday, making about 7 layouts (which were awful in my opinion, but what do you expect after what feels like months not making layouts?), and then yesterday, sat down to do this one. I loved how it turned out, so I thought I would share. Many people struggle to do multi-photo layouts, especially when there are a lot of great pictures, and resign themselves to creating a mini album instead. While that's a great solution, it can be quite time consuming. So here's an idea, using some old photos of the girls sledding in the yard from 2009:

 

Count it up -- that's 10 photos on the same page! This was extra tough since I recently had 200 photos printed out at York Photo, all 4X6, so I had to determine what size I wanted them all to be. Not only that, I didn't want to cut out any of the kids. Outdoor pics work great here, as there is usually a lot of unneeded background space that can be cut away without giving it a second thought. I tried to keep a consistent size going, but honestly, I wasn't keeping track of sizes towards the end. The hardest part of this layout was choosing a pleasing layout. that's where a lot of multi-photo layouts go horribly wrong. There's no rhyme or reason to photo placement, almost like they threw up all over the page!

I tried to keep it balanced, and after about eight minutes of shuffling photos around, came up with this. When I thought it was just right, I affixed the photos to the page starting at the bottom left hand corner and working my way across the first page, adding the second row afterwards, and then moving on to the second page of the layout. This allowed me to ensure perfect placement and spacing.

I pulled out an old sheet of Echo Park Winter Park element stickers to use up as much as I could. This allowed me to add things in random places without cluttering up the pics too much. The "Snow Day" sticker is a 3 Bugs In A Rug sticker from ages ago. One word of the title on one page and the other word on the second page, Pebbles alphabet stickers. Some great blue washi accenting the sides, and the journal box is Studio Calico Handbook journal cards. After the eight minutes of photo placement, another five or so minutes was spent placing embellishments. What a quick page!

 

 

And look at those kids! Hard to believe they are 14 and almost 12 (Rileigh's birthday is in one week!!) I am behind in my scrapping, for sure, but it's nice knowing I can catch up if I just keep it quick and easy. Yes, I'll still do pages that take me an hour, where embellishments, misting, and layers of patterned paper abound. However, I'll try to remember that it's okay to do up a page where it only takes a fraction of that hour. If it means getting caught up, I'm all for it! (Currently, I'm just starting to scrap 2009 in all of the kids albums!!!)

Alright, it's Monday, which means hubby is running errands for me. Work is done, looks like I'm getting some more scrapping done! Hope you're all having a great week!

xoxo
Khristen

Paper Crafting Challenges #6: Sketch/Pearls

Better late than never, right? Thought I would share this week's Paper Crafting Challenges mission, if you choose to accept it. It's easy peasy -- either make a card following the following sketch, or create something that includes pearls. And if you're a Lawn Fawn fan, you'll want to play -- the winner gets a free stamp set of your choice (which is a tough decision to have to make, they are all so cute!!) Of course, I chose the sketch:

 It's interesting, is it not? Here's what I created:

 I used a freebie Unity Stamp Co. sentiment included with my last order, Christy Tomlinson She Art paper, Prima flowers, and an AC pink pearl brad. I decided to move the circles on the sketch around a bit, as you can tell. I thought the sentiment would be fabulous raised off of the surface of the card, so I stuck three layers of foam adhesive squares in the center. Then I gently bent each side and adhered them to the card. Voila, an interesting banner sentiment, stamped with Memento Dew Drops in Danube Blue and Lady Bug. The blue circle felt left out, so I raised it up with adhesive foam squares too!

What are you waiting for? There are only four days left to play along with our sketch challenge for a chance to win some Lawn Fawn yumminess! Hurry over, I can't wait to see what you've created!

xoxo
Khristen

CAS-ual Fridays CFC129

Nothing like entering at the last minute! I decided to play along with challenge CFC129 at CAS-ual Fridays, where they ask you to use at least 2 shades of grey on your project.

I added a pop of purple with Memento Lulu Lavender ink and Fireworks spray (love that they are perfectly coordinated!). The sentiment is from Unity (a freebie I received with my last order), matted on two different sheets of grey cardstock. I decided all it needed at this point was a doodle and some glitter glue. Yesterday at Target, I picked up some American Crafts Grape Zazz that was on clearance. Have you used Zazz yet? I got a great spring color set, which included this pretty shade of purple. It goes so well with the Lulu Lavender, it's like they were created to go together!

I would say play along, but you'd only have 5 minutes to do so as it ends at noon! If you have the time, head on over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog and play along.

xoxo
Khristen

A Big Announcement!

Good morning! I trust everyone's weekend went well :) I'm posting with some big news: I am now designing for a new challenge blog, Paper Crafting Challenges! We bring a new challenge each and every Friday to get your creative juices flowing, and this week, it's a sketch challenge.

The sketch:

And my interpretation:

 I chose my Crafter's Companion Sentimentals Everyday - Imagine EZ Mount stamp set for this one -- the circular design lends itself well to the sketch. I felt the sketch needed to be turned, and used some pretty Authentique papers. Simple doodles added the perfect finishing touch!

So head on over to Paper Crafting Challenges and link up in our sketch challenge! Cards not your thing? Create an altered item with the theme "something sweet!" I can't wait to see what you create! Spread the word to your crafty friends about this new-blog-on-the-block, too! We'd appreciate it :) I am honored to be chosen for this team, and hope to inspire you each and every week!

xoxo
Khristen

4 Crafty Chicks: Things With Wings

Yet another fun creation for the 4 Crafty Chicks challenge blog, where they are looking for "Things with Wings." So I turned to my Stamp It Australia Imagine - Birds & Butterflies, naturally!

Before stamping the image with London Fog Memento ink with my Rock-A-Blocks, I sprayed the card base with Mister Huey in water Cooler. Right before it dried, I added a layer of Imagine Crafts Sheer Shimmer mist in Frost. The image was stamped and then embossed lightly with clear Stampendous embossing powder, then spritzed with Fireworks Lulu Lavender from Imagine Crafts. The mist comes right off the clear powder so that it isn't masked by all that lovely purple mist! I adhered it with adhesive squares to the card base after dragging the edges in the grey ink. The butterflies and flourish on the bottom are Glitz Design Distressed Couture rubons accented with Lavender Stickles. The sentiment is leftover from the Crafter's Companion Fairyopolis Complete Cardmaking kit. More Stickles completes this card perfectly!

There you have it. Now, this card is ready to be given to someone (although who that will be escapes me at the moment!)

xoxo
Khristen